“ Do not use Wikipedia, anybody can post anything on there,” said every teacher I ever had since I began writing papers and doing research. I assume that is why this is even an option for the topic of this paper. According to David Barnett everything on there is basically volunteered information. Why do people use it you ask? Well Brian Feldman wrote an article and in that article he mentioned YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki saying Wikipedia is a reliable source. It is really not reliable, it is just something that works.
According to Wikipedia, “ Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any time. This means that any information it contains at any particular time could be vandalism, a work in progress, or just plain wrong”. The website itself admits that it can not be trusted. Some of the information may be facts but not everything and that is just unreliable. Search “ why Wikipedia is bad ”, on Google and click the first Wikipedia link it literally states, “ Wikipedia is not a reliable source” in the first paragraph. The paragraph goes on to say Wikipedia is a “ volunteer-run project”. This makes up David Barnett’s article on Wikipedia titled “Can we trust Wikipedia? 1.4 billion people can't be wrong”. In this article he states, “ it is all completely voluntary”. He says that anyone can post anything on there claiming facts whether it be out of interest for something, knowledge, or just pure maliciousness. That is dangerous. Imagine thinking that Wikipedia is trustworthy and factual, using the site for a project and everything you think you have learned and researched is a lie. Why do people still use it you ask? It simply works in some aspects. Brian Feldman’s article “ Why Wikipedia Works” explains why. The article simply says that YouTube uses Wikipedia information to promote videos on conspiracy theories. From my understanding this works for them because basically Wikipedia is an encyclopedia full of opinions and conspiracy theories. That makes sense: use a conspiracy theory to promote conspiracy theories. Both articles mention the website being monitored and incorrect information eventually being removed but can admit that the website is simply too big for false information to not be spread at all.
In conclusion Wikipedia is not by any means reliable for factual information but it can be good for knowing other people’s opinions on certain subjects. Some information can be trusted but only if the information comes from a reliable outside source. If one should choose to get information from Wikipedia they should use the information with links where the facts were found. Wikipedia is used all over the world in several different languages and should be used wisely. Wikipedia in my eyes will always be the “Facebook” or “ Twitter” of internet encyclopedias. You still have to research what you read just as you research a social media pose because the information could very well just be a big opinion just like the comment section of any social media. Wikipedia the one huge conspiracy of information.
References
editBarnett, D. (2018, February 19). What is WIKIPEDIA? The best way to find out is to consult it. Retrieved April 09, 2021, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/wikipedia-explained-what-it-trustworthy-how-work-wikimedia-2030-a8213446.html[1]
Feldman, B. (2018, March 16). Why wikipedia works. Retrieved April 09, 2021, from https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/03/why-wikipedia-works.html[2]
Wikipedia is not a reliable source. (2021, February 17). Retrieved April 09, 2021, from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_not_a_reliable_source[3]
- ^ "What is Wikipedia? The best way to find out is to consult it". The Independent. 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ^ Feldman, Brian (2018-03-16). "Why Wikipedia Works". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ^ "Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a reliable source - Wikipedia". en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2021-04-12.